On this day in 1987, in one of his most famous Cold War speeches, President Ronald Reagan challenges Soviet Leader Mikhail Gorbachev to “tear down” the Berlin Wall, a symbol of the repressive Communist era in a divided Germany.

As one who grew up,during the Cold War, I was amazed at the rapidity of events which unfolded in the next few years after this speech. The Berlin Wall did fall. The Iron Curtain was shredded. Many people were able to sample their first delicious taste of personal freedom.

We have a long way to go before all the people in the world live in freedom, but that period of time gleams brightly in the history of freedom.